10 Tips for Exploring Tide Pools Safely With Kids

There are few better ways to spend a day as a family than to spend a day at the beach building sand castles and exploring some tidepools. We all get a healthy dose of clean salty ocean air, improve your balancing skills as we skip from rock to rock, and slow down our pace of life by listening to the sound of crashing waves and squawking gulls.  It's nature's therapy for the total cost of "zero dollars and zero cents" as my 4 year old might be apt to say.

• Kid-friendly Tide pools in California
• Kid-friendly Tide Pools in Oregon
• Kid-friendly Tide Pools in Washington
• Kid-friendly Tide Pools on Oahu, Hawaii
• Kid-friendly Tide Pools in Maui, Hawaii
• Kid-friendly Tide Pools on Big Island of Hawaii
• Field Guides and Resources to Teaching Kids about Tide Pools

Before you pack the kids into the car excited about finding a hermit crab. Here are a few tips for exploring tidepools with kids:

1) Check the tide table - most tide pools are only exposed at low tide when there is a minus tide. Plan to arrive about an hour before low tide.

2) If it's a cold day, dress your kids in boots and rain gear and bring a towel with a change of clothes.  On a warm day, dress them in clothes they can get wet in.  Young kids can't get that close to water and not get wet even if you tell them a 100 times not to get wet.

3) Make sure everyone has shoes that have good grip and are closed toed.  (Flip flops don't have good grip, I don't care what you say!)

4) Explore with a magnifying glass.  Kids just love to get up close and personal.  But always remind your kids to be gentle with the wildlife - no prying them off rocks.  Encourage them to lift up seaweed and peer beneath.

5) Never leave a child to explore the tide pools on their own and don't turn your back to the ocean.  A sudden large wave might come crashing in and knock your child over. It will be just a second before they get swept out to sea if there are strong currents.

6) Pick up a colroful pocket field guide so that kids can identify the plants and animals they come across.  Here's a list of field guides and resources to teach kids about tide pools.

7) It's hard for kids to tread lightly, but it's good to remind them that there are animals even on the exposed rocks like snails.

8) Always beware of the rising tide and your route back to the the beach.  Don't let the rising tide cut you off.

9) If you have a baby, you might consider strapping baby on your front in a front carrier, but do use good judgement because it sure is hard to balance while skipping rocks with the weight of a baby setting you off balance.

10) Don't forget to bring sun protection even on an overcast day where the cloud cover gives an illusion that you're protected from harmful UV rays.

Related:

• Kid-friendly Tide pools in California
• Kid-friendly Tide Pools in Oregon
• Kid-friendly Tide Pools in Washington
• Kid-friendly Tide Pools on Oahu, Hawaii
• Kid-friendly Tide Pools in Maui, Hawaii
• Kid-friendly Tide Pools on Big Island of Hawaii
• Field Guides and Resources to Teaching Kids about Tide Pools

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LiLing Pang is a contributing author on Trekaroo – a reviews site dedicated to exploring and traveling with kids.

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